WINTER 2014: BILL PAXTON BECOMES AN AGENT "OF S.H.I.E.L.D."

Agent Coulson is about to get a blast from the past when a former colleague shows up on Marvel's Agents of SHIELD.

Big Love's Bill Paxton will be joining the comics-inspired drama later this winter. Paxton will portray high-ranking Agent John Garrett, an old colleague of Coulson's who is miserable sitting behind a desk and being away from all the action.

Garrett soon has his desires fulfilled when he is thrown back into the field with May and Ward.

Paxton is slated to appear in at least four episodes beginning late February/early March.

TV: MARVEL UNIVERSE TO EXPAND ON THE SMALL SCREEN; NETFLIX PLANNING TO STREAM ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING

We're getting word that an amazing collaboration between Netflix and The Walt Disney Company is in the works and will bring several Marvel Comics characters to the streaming service in live-action series formats.

The ball will tentatively get rolling in 2015 with a 13-episode live action series revolving around the Daredevil/Matt Murdock character. The last time Daredevil was seen on screen was back in 2003 when Ben Affleck took on the role of the blind vigilante. Once the Daredevil series concludes, another series, this time focusing on Jessica Jones, will premiere. As part of the multi-year agreement, two more series, focusing on Luke Cage and Iron Fist, will follow suit.

But the fun doesn't end there. Once all four proposed shows stream and conclude on Netflix, they will be followed by a miniseries event that unites the heroes (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist) into one team. Reports are claiming that the assembled team will be a reimage of The Defenders. Marvel Comics fans may recall that The Defenders was consisted of several individual members harboring their own agendas. While originally conceived as a group of anti-team or non-team outsiders, The Defenders brought heroes together to battle mystic and supernatural threats. Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist have been part of The Defenders at one point or another in the comics canon. 

The multi-year deal is noteworthy considering the size and scope of the project. Marvel is determined to increase its domain on the small screen and Netflix is more than capable to stream original programming after its considerable award-winning ventures this past year (House of Cards, Arrested Development, Orange is the New Black).

FALL 2013: 'MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D' PLANS 'THOR' CROSSOVER

Marvel really wants box office success when Thor: The Dark World hits the big screen on November 8.

It's been announced that ABC's superhero powerhouse Marvel's Agents of SHIELD will crossover with the Thor sequel two weeks after the movie premieres. Now before you get your hopes up, don't expect Thor or any of the other movie characters to appear on the television show in the November 19 episode. The Agents of SHIELD episode will deal directly with the fallout of the movie's plot which potentially "threatens to destroy a member of the team."

Now time to speculate. The November 19 episode is titled "The Well." Could this be a reference to Agent Coulson's miraculous return to the living after the events of The Avengers? We can't say for sure that anything relating to Coulson will be mentioned in the new Thor movie but since it is the first Marvel movie to premiere since The Avengers, one would expect some kind of explanation even if its after the end credits. One thing's for sure, whatever happened to Coulson in Tahiti will be slowly revealed in the show's freshman season.

FALL 2013: FOX ORDERS SERIES BASED ON DC COMICS COMMISSIONER GORDON

On the heels of the series premiere of ABC's Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (literally on the same day the new comics-book based series aired), FOX has ordered straight to series Gotham, a drama based on the DC Comics character Commissioner James Gordon. Umm yeah, the one from the Batman universe. Don't expect to see any glimpses of the Dark Knight though. Gotham will explore the origins stories of both Commissioner Gordon and the villains that made Gotham City into the metropolis we have grown to love.

FALL 2013: ABC'S 'AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.' MIGHT BE IN TROUBLE!

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could be in some trouble right now and the show hasn't even aired its first episode yet.

Sources are indicating that the latest scripts of the action-hero drama have been downright awful. It's been so bad that producer/director/writer Joss Whedon had to do a last-minute rewrite of a script, just one hour before the actual table reading. Whedon is slated to pass on the showrunner duties to his brother Jed and sister-in-law Maurissa Tancharoen later this fall so he can focus on other projects.

One problem with the latest Marvel venture is that the show will not rely heavily on superhero appearances, especially those fundamental to the current movie franchise. Pressure from network heads, however, could change things. But these problems are not a positive sign two weeks before the show is scheduled to premiere.

Keep it locked to Stay Tuned for future updates on anything and everything television.

WEEKEND WRAP-UP: 'MARVEL'S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D' POSTER REVEALED

The poster for ABC's much anticipated superhero-related action series Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was released over the weekend. The artwork finally pieces together the cast of the new show with Clark Gregg's dead but now very much alive Agent Phil Coulson front and center. The mystery of Coulson's resurrection is still shrouded and will be slowly explained. Expect Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill and J. August Richards (Gunn on Angel) as a mystery character in the premiere episode. While Richards' character is speculated to be Mike Peterson, based on the same character in the Marvel comic universe, we know for sure that he is not Luke Cage, as initially reported.

Catch the hype on September 24!

Keep it locked to Stay Tuned on anything and everything television.

COMIC-CON SCOOP! MARIA HILL LIVES ON IN JOSS WHEDON'S 'AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.

Today was another fun-filled day at Comic-Con and within all the panels and Q&A sessions, it was revealed that a familiar face will be reprising her role for Joss Whedon's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Actress Cobie Smulders is scheduled to once again portray Agent Maria Hill on the new action series when it premieres this fall. Smulders originated the role in last year's hit The Avengers, and is rumored to be participating in the long-awaited sequel. Smulders will be the second original cast member of the movie to join Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Clark Gregg is signed-on to resurrect his character Agent Phil Coulson.

Now before you jump for joy over the news there is a downside to the story. Smulders is only scheduled to reprise Maria Hill for the show's pilot episode. As TV fans may recognize, Smulders is still under contract to perform in How I Met Your Mother's final season on CBS this fall. Despite her appearance on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. being a one-shot, there is a possibility that the actress and character could appear in future episodes. Regardless, it is still a casting coup that will further pique fans' interest in the show.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is scheduled to premiere on September 24.

Keep checking back with us for more TV updates from Comic-Con, and remember to Stay Tuned!